Types of vertigo
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Vertigo: Types of dizziness and how they develop

When we feel dizzy, we lose our sense of orientation in space and experience motions in our environment that do not really exist. Result: balance problems to the point of falling, accompanied by a range of different symptoms.

Various forms of vertigo emerge through different processes in our organism. Therefore, it is important to know how our balance system works together with other human body systems, allowing us to get our bearings and move in a room.

Our balance system

Our balance system

When it comes to vertigo, the balance system is the focus of attention

Other involved systems

Other involved systems

To maintain our orientation in a room and be able to move around safely we need additonal sensory systems other than our balance system alone.

Multifactorial vertigo

Multifactorial vertigo

Not always can a single and clear-cut cause of vertigo be identified. Often, several factors interact or exactly what causes vertigo cannot be narrowed down unequivocally. These types of vertigo are grouped under the rubric of multifactorial vertigo.

Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV)

Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV)

Benign positional vertigo is also known by the term benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and manifests itself typically by suddenly occurring rotational vertigo.

Somatoform vertigo

Somatoform vertigo

Occasionally you cannot identify physical causes for vertigo symptoms even though complaints are severe. Here we talk about somatoform vertigo (gr. soma = body) or psychogenic vertigo.

Menière’s disease

Menière’s disease

Morbus Menière, also called Menière’s disease, presents with a repeatedly occurring, nauseating rotational vertigo accompanied with impaired hearing in one ear and tinnitus (low-frequency "noise" in the ear).

Neuropathia vestibularis or vestibular neuritis

Neuropathia vestibularis or vestibular neuritis

A sudden attack of intense rotational vertigo with a tendency to fall, accompanied with severe nausea and eye tremor suggest a so-called Neuropathia vestibulares (vestibular neuritis): an acute failure of the balance organ on one side.

Vestibular migraine

Vestibular migraine

With vestibular migraine (vertigo migraine), the vertigo attack is accompanied by additional symptoms that are typical of migraine.

Central-nervous causes

Central-nervous causes

A number of disorders of the central-nervous system (CNS) especially in the brain can be responsible for non-directional vertigo. In this case, we talk about central (vestibular) vertigo cerebral vertigo (with brain diseases) res. neuronal vertigo (with disease of the nerve cells).

More types of vertigo

More types of vertigo

Vertigo can have many forms – this is due to the fact that many systems of our body make sure that we can move safely in space. More important types of vertigo are explained to you here.

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